As a warm-up to our annual conference in October, we are presenting six virtual 90-minute classes during August and September. The classes will be presented by editors from Eschler Editing and will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Mountain Time on the following Saturdays:
- August 21 – Writing Hooks: How to Hook Readers, Agents, and Publishers – REGISTRATION CLOSED
- August 28 – Self-Publishing: Customizing Your Path and Book to Accomplish Your Goals – REGISTRATION CLOSED
- September 4 – What Kid-Lit Agents Want – REGISTRATION CLOSED
- September 11 – Ask an Editor Anything (Almost) – REGISTRATION CLOSED
- September 18 – Editing Basics for the Editor Wannabe and the Self-Editing Author- REGISTRATION CLOSED
- September 25 – Amazon Optimization, Ads, and How to Get to Amazon Bestseller Status – REGISTRATION CLOSED
These classes cost $50 each to attend. If you registered for our Seventh Annual Conference before July 31, you can sign up for 3 of these classes for free.
Note: To encourage live attendance (since these classes depend on participation) and to keep logistical costs low, we will NOT be recording these classes.
The Zoom link for each class will be emailed to the participants several days before the class.
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August 21 – Writing Hooks: How to Hook Readers, Agents, and Publishers
Sabine Berlin
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, which is why getting your hook right matters. Whether you are trying to hook an agent with a great query, hook a publisher with a unique idea, or hook your reader with the perfect first sentence, getting your hook right is the key to getting noticed. This class will focus on the different types of hooks, their importance, and ways to make sure you can reel in your audience hook, line, and sinker.
Intended audience: Authors
Sabine Berlin is an avid reader (everything from Asimov to Austen); a writer of YA Sci-Fi (although her first published book is part of the Korean Crush Romance Series); and an editor of pretty much everything (but YA and historical fiction are her favorite). She loves to learn and has degrees in Editing and Document Design, History, and Higher Educational Leadership. She is the Manager of Curriculum at Utah Valley University, a full-time soccer mom, and a K-Drama addict. She lives in Utah County with her husband, three kids, and a crazy chocolate lab.
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August 28 – Self-Publishing: Customizing Your Path and Book to Accomplish Your Goals
Hosted by Shanda Cottam
How seriously should you invest in your cover, print design, and marketing? Will a DIY approach work for you? Your end goals determine your self-publishing path, and what works for someone else may not work for you. Whether you are documenting your family history, working on a fiction series, or writing a nonfiction book to support your business platform, learn how customizing your self-publishing path can give you the best chance at accomplishing your goals.
Intended audience: Authors
Shanda Cottam is an editor and project manager at Eschler Editing. She founded and was the moderator of the LDS Women’s Book Review podcast and blog for over a decade. After several years of reading books that were already published, she discovered that critiquing and editing manuscripts was what really fueled her. She’s currently working on a BA in Creative Writing and English.
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September 4 – What Kid-Lit Agents Want
Hosted by Lindsay Flanagan
With agents Jessica Reino (Metamorphosis Literary Agency), Jacqui Lipton (Raven Quill Literary), Kortney Price (Raven Quill Literary), and Hannah Vanvels (Belcastro Literary)
Have you ever wondered what agents who represent kid-lit (YA, MG, picture books) really want to see in their query boxes? And further, what makes them request to read a manuscript? Now is your chance to ask! You may submit 2–3 questions to lindsay.eschlerediting@gmail.com. We will interview four kid-lit agents and ask them to answer your questions! This session will be a recording of the agents responding to the questions with a quick Q&A with Lindsay from Eschler Editing and Raven Quill Literary.
Intended audience: Authors
Lindsay Flanagan holds a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Literature. After spending a decade in higher education, she took a leap of faith and left the field to become a freelance editor. She now edits for Eschler Editing and small presses. She also is an agency assistant at Raven Quill Literary. Lindsay loves authors—and not just because she is one. She writes young adult and middle grade novels, poetry, and creative prose. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s photographing the majestic mountainous landscapes of Utah, where she lives with her husband and two brilliant and beautiful daughters.
![](https://www.ldspma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Angela-Eschler.jpg)
![](https://www.ldspma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/LindsayFlanagen_hs.jpg)
![](https://www.ldspma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Julia-King.jpg)
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September 11 – Ask an Editor Anything (Almost)
Angela Eschler, Lindsay Flanagan, Julia King, and Sandi Larsen
It’s Ask-an-Editor-Anything (almost) with the founder and editor-in-chief of Eschler Editing, Angela Eschler, and senior editor Lindsay Flanagan.This class is aimed at new or would-be editors. These editors are armed with answers to your many questions about what editing really is, how to become an editor, and what it’s like to be an editor. We’ll also talk about how being an intern offers insight into the publishing industry and hands-on experience to increase your skills to polish authors’ manuscripts. Have questions about what type of editing your manuscript needs before you send it off to agents and publishers? They’ve got tips and advice for selecting the right type of editor and service. In this session, the editors are an open book!
Intended audience: People who want to become editors or expand their editorial careers
Angela Eschler, founder of the award-winning Eschler Editing and boutique publisher E&E Books, has over twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, including nearly a decade working in-house at traditional publishers. She now works as a freelance editor and industry coach for authors, editors, publishers, and other organizations and has edited thousands of manuscripts from diverse genres. As a best-selling author, Angela’s work has been featured on television, radio, and in documentary film. As a certified word nerd, she loves connecting with writers and readers of all sorts.
Lindsay Flanagan holds a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Literature. After spending a decade in higher education, she took a leap of faith and left the field to become a freelance editor. She now edits for Eschler Editing and small presses. She also is an agency assistant at Raven Quill Literary. Lindsay loves authors—and not just because she is one. She writes young adult and middle grade novels, poetry, and creative prose. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s photographing the majestic mountainous landscapes of Utah, where she lives with her husband and two brilliant and beautiful daughters.
Julia King is a young-adult fiction author who recently earned a master’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She now works as a freelance editor. Her debut novel, Félicité Found, is a young-adult paranormal romance set in Paris, France. Oui, oui, she loves that city! Julia loves music, hiking, and dogs. She has almost accomplished her goal to visit all seven continents with only one to go—Antarctica.
Sandra Larsen was a stand-out intern at Eschler Editing and now helps run the publishing department at E&E Books. She graduated from UVU with a bachelor’s degree in English and has spent the last decade or so raising four lively children. Sandi is thrilled by the opportunity to join the Eschler Editing team. She has a passion for reading any book she can get her hands on and especially loves discussing books with others.
![](https://www.ldspma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Brittany-Passmore.jpg)
September 18 – Editing Basics for the Editor Wannabe and the Self-Editing Author
Brittany Passmore
If you’ve always wanted to become an editor or just want to learn how to better polish your writing, it’s important for you to learn the basics of editing. Learn about the differences between developmental editing, substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading along with hacks for each editing level that can hone your writing and/or editing craft.
Intended audience: People who want to become editors, and writers who want to learn how they can self-edit their writing.
Brittany Passmore is a freelance editor specializing in fantasy and science fiction with a BA in Editing and Publishing. She loves working with writers in every stage of the editing process and helping their stories reach their full potential. When she’s not editing, reading, or writing, Brittany enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, dabbling in her musical hobbies, practicing yoga, and playing board games.
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September 25 – Amazon Optimization, Ads, and How to Get to Amazon Bestseller Status
Melissa Dalton Martinez
You’ve written an amazing book! Yay, you’re done, right? NO! Now, you need to make sure you build on a solid foundation to have the best chance possible for success.
With so many books being published, it’s more important than ever to make sure your book is doing everything right. And to do that, you need to understand how to make sure your book gets the opportunity to be noticed on Amazon, which includes knowing the basics of metadata (what now?!). With over a million books being published every year, now is the time to get a solid foundation for a promising publishing future. In this class, we’ll discuss how to make sure that
- your metadata is correct,
- your online description is hitting the audience you need,
- you are using the most strategic categories,
- you are using the most strategic keywords,
- and you’re doing the right research to find the best data to use for your book.
You need to make the best impression you can, so do it right the first time! You’ll save yourself time and money and even be more likely to achieve best-seller status.
Intended audience: Authors
Melissa Dalton Martinez has a BA in Communications and Business Management and an MA in Publishing. Melissa works as the marketing director for Eschler Editing and E&E Books. She also hosts the widely successful online show The Book Break. Melissa serves as a book reviewer for multiple publications and does monthly book recommendation segments on Utah’s ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX television stations. In addition, Melissa teaches at publishing conferences nationwide; provides publisher and author services in marketing, branding, and media consulting; is a best-selling author; and is a co-owner of Tolwis Publishing.